Tetra Pak & Finish Society Collabs to Rake Up Recycling

Tetra Pak, a major global food processing and packaging solutions company, has teamed up with Finish Society, a widely-known solid waste management NGO, to escalate collection of used carton packages in Udaipur.

As part of the mutual effort, the NGO will be working in close association with the Municipal Corporation of Udaipur to gather used packs of juice/milk from the corporation’s sorting centers, which will then be channelized to the nearest recycler. With this new collaboration, Rajasthan has become the 22nd State / Union territory covered by the company’s elaborative collection network.

This network comprises 38 cities and 14 Indian Army contingents, backed by more than 26 collection and awareness partners, across 22 states and Union Territories.

Udaipur is a high-visibility tourist destination and hence witnesses a lot of carton consumption. Concomitantly, it is also ranked 1st in Rajasthan under the Swachch Sarvekshan 2020 for cities with less than 10,000,00 residents. The company and the NGO will hence focus on spreading awareness among the waste-picker community, about the value they can harness from collecting used beverage cartons and selling them to a recycler.

Simultaneously, the initiative will also evoke awareness among consumers regarding the positive influence of waste-segregation and recycling on the cleanliness of their surroundings, as well as on the environment at large.

The used cartons procured through this initiative will be sent to the nearest recycler – Khatema Fibres Ltd, a local paper-mill based in Uttarakhand, and a recycling partner for Tetra Pak since 2013.

Sharing his views about the initiative, Jaideep Gokhale, sustainability director, Tetra Pak South Asia, stated- “Tetra Pak cartons are paper-based, recyclable and have the lowest carbon footprint among all other packaging materials used for similar food products. So, when we choose carton packaging, we are already making a positive choice. And when we segregate used cartons from our waste, we ensure that waste pickers earn an additional livelihood, and the used cartons get recycled into many useful items like benches, desks, bins, roofing sheets and more. Over the past 17 years, we have been able to expand our collection and recycling ecosystem across the country and today, over 40% cartons sold in India are recycled. We had been looking for a suitable partner to work with in Rajasthan and we have found that in Finish society. Together, we look forward to helping build a Swachh Udaipur.”

Saurabh Agnihotri, Finish Society declared- “The need of the hour is to recover all recyclable waste and convert it into a resource. We will work on raising awareness about recyclability of these packages on one hand, as well as set up ‘drop-off points’ at registered shops, juice centres and other easily accessible locations where consumers can deposit their used cartons easily. But the key focus of our work will be on educating the waste-picker community about the value of carton waste and the role it can play in augmenting their household income. We are thankful to Tetra Pak for leading from the front, and also the Municipal Corporation of Udaipur for their continued support.”

The company’s cartons are paper-based and recyclable. The company, along with its partners, has been bolstering the carton package recycling eco-system in the country for more than 17 years. The used carton packages are gathered and recycled into various materials such as paper, waterproof poly-aluminium, or panel boards which are then transformed into useful items such as classroom furniture for disadvantaged schools, roofing sheets, notebooks, seats and backrests for commercial vehicles and more. With the addition of Udaipur, today, the company’s collection network encompasses 22 states and Union Territories. This network is backed by 26 collection and awareness partners and 4 recyclers across the nation.